In Wally Lamb’s emotional and page-turning sixth novel, THE RIVER IS WAITING, we are introduced to Corby Ledbetter, a 35-year-old father of twins Maisie and Niko. His wife, Emily, is getting ready for work upstairs, and he is making breakfast, listening to his children babble in their cribs. Then an unimaginable tragedy occurs, one that could have been prevented had Corby not been under the influence of his morning rum and Ativan.

Corby accepts responsibility for this horrific incident. He goes on trial and is sentenced to three years at the Yates Correctional Institution. Suffering and atonement for what happened have now become the focus of his life.

"... emotional and page-turning... How the novel ends may be a surprise. Or it may be exactly as it should be. You, the reader, may decide."

The second part of the novel, “Day by Day by Day by Day by Day,” begins with a trip to the prison in the “ice cream wagon” with two other prisoners. Corby’s first cellmate spells out what will and will not happen with precision and dark promises of consequences. His existence is now defined by threats, rules, degradation, danger, wasted time and fear. Some moments in the grindingly slow days, counted one by one, give him ease: an unexpected letter from the psychiatrist he saw before being incarcerated, the AA meetings at D Block on Sunday mornings, and the prison’s librarian, Fagie Millman. She introduces him to Lester, a Black prisoner who in turn introduces him to Walter Mosley and shows him the stack of James Baldwin books he has collected for re-reading.

The library has a few patrons (Corby is surprised to be referred to as a patron, not an inmate), and he respects the privilege of being allowed to read in a quiet space. There is no shield against his suffering. There is no shield against his guilt and sadness. There is no shield against the animal brutality and cruelty from some men. But in the library are conversations and chocolate chip cookies from Mrs. Millman’s husband.

Corby had been a commercial artist before he lost his job months before the unthinkable tragedy, so he knew of Pieter Bruegel’s painting depicting Icarus’ fall. But he had not read Auden’s poem commemorating that fall until Mrs. Millman gives him a copy; he then can see the common folk in the painting and their lack of reaction to a boy who is falling from the sky. For reasons of protocol, Corby cannot work at the library, but he is invited to paint one particularly plain wall there. His preliminary sketch takes days to create, and it shows a scene of the property around Yates. It is approved, and he paints. Corby’s pleasure is that Mrs. Millman spins the praise and publicity for his artwork to a reward for the library.

In the last segment, titled “Butterfly Boy,” the family is invited to look at Corby’s contribution to the prison, this huge, impressive mural. The land, the deep woods and the open fields are seen as if from an overhanging ledge. The significant difference is that the Yates property is missing. Corby told a reporter earlier that it was not important whether the painting depicts the scene while it was still Wequonnoc land or whether it is set in the future. The journalist then draws attention to the center of the mural: prisoners floating down the river.

In THE RIVER IS WAITING, Wally Lamb has woven together the bruising outer life of a prisoner with the tragic inner life of a suffering man. There is great sadness, fascinating details of therapy sessions, and promises of change. There is also evidence of the strength of a man facing his mistake. How the novel ends may be a surprise. Or it may be exactly as it should be. You, the reader, may decide.